Shoe that can stably receive foot arch correction device and an outsole thereof

ABSTRACT

A shoe includes an outsole and an upper. The outsole has a base wall, and a surrounding wall extending upwardly and integrally from a periphery of the base wall and cooperating with the same to define a receiving space. The surrounding wall has a guide groove surrounding the receiving space. The upper is fixedly connected to the outsole by a seam that is received in and that extends around the guide groove. A foot arch correction device is disposed in the receiving space in a non-protruding manner and has a stepping portion located on top of the base wall, and a protective portion extending upwardly and outwardly from a periphery of the stepping portion and surrounded by the surrounding wall.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Application No. 107205688, filed on May 2, 2018.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe that has a function of correcting foot arch and that can stably receive a foot arch correction device, and an outsole thereof.

BACKGROUND

An ordinary shoe basically includes an outsole, and an upper connected to a top side of the outsole and cooperating therewith to define a wearing space. Although a conventional shoe has the function of protecting the foot, it does not have the function of correcting the foot arch. Human foot is made up of bones, muscles, tendons, blood vessels, nerves and skin. The human foot, by congenital or acquired influence, are classified into three types: a normal foot, a flat foot and a high arch foot. Apart from the normal foot which can allow the weight of the body to uniformly fall on the sole of the foot so as to maintain the bones and the meridians in healthy positions, the other two types of the human foot are prone to produce abnormal rotation of the foot when the person stands and walks. As such, in daily life, the flat foot and the high arch foot can easily create body discomfort, such as foot bottom pain, fascia inflammation, joint pain, etc.

To overcome the above deficiencies, a shoe having a function of correcting foot arch has been developed and sold in the market. This kind of conventional shoe includes an outsole and an upper cooperatively defining a wearing space, and a foot arch correction device that is disposed in the wearing space and that applies the principle of mechanics to properly correct the flat foot and the high arch foot. The foot arch correction device usually has a stepping portion for a user's foot to step thereon, and a protective portion extending upwardly from a periphery of the stepping portion for protecting two lateral sides and rear heel of the foot. During use of the conventional shoe, the foot arch correction device is disposed above the outsole and is surrounded by the upper. Since the upper is made of a soft material, it cannot stably hold the foot arch correction device in place, so that the foot arch correction device may be displaced and moved unstably in the wearing space during use of the conventional shoe, thereby adversely affecting its efficiency on correcting the foot arch of the user's foot. The outsole of the conventional shoe, on the other hand, is only used to connect with the upper, and cannot protect and hold the foot arch correction device. Thus, there is still room for improvement of the conventional shoe.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a shoe that is capable of alleviating at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art and an outsole thereof.

According to one aspect of this disclosure, a shoe includes an outsole, an upper and a foot arch correction device. The outsole has a base wall, and a surrounding wall extending upwardly and integrally from a periphery of the base wall and cooperating with the same to define a receiving space. The surrounding wall has a guide groove surrounding the receiving space. The upper is fixedly connected to the outsole by a seam that is received in and that extends around the guide groove. The foot arch correction device is disposed in the receiving space in a non-protruding manner and has a stepping portion located on top of the base wall, and a protective portion extending upwardly and outwardly from a periphery of the stepping portion and surrounded by the surrounding wall.

According to another aspect of this disclosure, an outsole of a shoe configured to receive a foot arch correction device includes a base wall configured to support the foot arch correction device, and a surrounding wall extending upwardly and integrally from a periphery of the base wall and cooperating with the same to define a receiving space for receiving the foot arch correction device in a non-protruding manner. The surrounding wall is configured to surround the foot arch correction device and has a guide groove surrounding the receiving space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a shoe according to the embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an outsole, an insole and a foot arch correction device of the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an assembled top view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, a shoe 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes an outsole 10, an upper 11, a foot arch correction device 14 and an insole 16.

The outsole 10 is made of a single piece of rubber or plastic material having a good structural strength and stiffness, such as: PVC, PU, TPU, etc., but is not limited thereto. The outsole 10 has a base wall 2, and a surrounding wall 3 extending upwardly and integrally from a periphery of the base wall 2. The base wall 2 and the surrounding wall 3 cooperatively define a receiving space 4. The base wall 2 has two inwardly curved lateral sides 21 spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction and respectively corresponding to the medial longitudinal arch and the lateral longitudinal arch of a user's foot, a foot arch region 22 located between the inwardly curved lateral sides 21, a ball region 23 located on a front side of the foot arch region 22, and a heel region 24 located on a rear side of the foot arch region 22.

The surrounding wall 3 includes two side wall sections 31 located on two opposite sides of the foot arch region 22, a front wall section 32 connected to front ends of the side wall sections 31 and surrounding the ball region 23, a rear wall section 33 connected to rear ends of the side wall sections 31 and surrounding the heel region 24, and a guide groove 34 formed in and extending around an outer peripheral surface thereof. Specifically, the guide groove 34 is formed in and extends around outer surfaces of the side wall sections 31 and the front and rear wall sections 32, 33. Each side wall section 31 has a top edge 311 and a height that gradually increases from the front end to the rear end thereof. Each of the front and rear wall sections 32, 33 has a top edge 321, 331 connected between the top edges 311 of the side wall sections 31. The guide groove 34 is proximate to the top edges 311, 321, 331.

With reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 6, the receiving space 4 has a depth that gradually increases from a side proximate to the ball region 23 toward a side proximate to the heel region 24. To provide a good covering effect and to stably receive the foot arch correction device 14, the receiving space 4 includes a first area 41 corresponding to the foot arch region 22, and a second area 42 corresponding to the heel region 24. The first area 41 has an average depth larger than an average thickness of the foot arch region 22. In this embodiment, the average depth of the first area 41 is two to three times the average thickness of the foot arch region 22. The second area 42 has an average depth that is one to two times an average thickness of the heel region 24. The average depth and the average thickness of this embodiment are obtained by calculating the average of a plurality of measuring points.

The upper 11 is fixedly connected to the surrounding wall 3 of the outsole 10 by a seam 12, and cooperates with the same to define a wearing space 13 communicating with the receiving space 4 and configured to accommodate a user's foot. The seam 12 is received in and extends around the guide groove 34. The provision of the guide groove 34 can facilitate the accurate position of the seam 12 during sewing, and can receive the seam 12 after sewing so that the seam 12 will not protrude out of the guide groove 34 and be damaged.

The foot arch correction device 14 is disposed in the receiving space 4 in a non-protruding manner. The foot arch correction device 14 may elastically deform due to pressing of the user's body weight, and may then restore to its original position when the external force is released. The foot arch correction device 14 has a stepping portion 141 located on top of the base wall 2 and configured to be stepped on by the user's foot, and a protective portion 142 extending upwardly and outwardly from a periphery of the stepping portion 141 and surrounded by the surrounding wall 3. The protective portion 142 corresponds to two lateral sides and a heel of the user's foot, and has two lateral top edges 143 spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction, and a heel top edge 144 connected between the lateral top edges 143 and surrounding the heel of the user's foot. One of the lateral top edges 143 corresponds to the medial longitudinal arch of the user's foot, while the other lateral top edge 143 corresponds to the lateral longitudinal arch of the user's foot.

The side wall sections 31 of the surrounding wall 3 respectively correspond to the lateral top edges 143 of the protective portion 142. The top edge 311 of each side wall section 31 is higher than a respective one of the lateral top edges 143, as shown in FIG. 5. The top edge 331 of the rear wall section 33 of the surrounding wall 3 is higher than the heel top edge 144 of the protective portion 142, as shown in FIG. 4.

The insole 16 is disposed in the receiving space 4, is located below the foot arch correction device 14, and is supported by the base wall 2.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4 to 6, to assemble the shoe 1, the outsole 10 and the upper 11 are first fixedly connected to each other through the seam 12 to cooperatively define the wearing space 13, after which the foot arch correction device 14 and the insole 16 are inserted into the wearing space 13 and extend into the receiving space 4 of the outsole 10. After assembly, the foot arch correction device 14 is located on top of the insole 16, and does not protrude out of the receiving space 4 because the lateral top edges 143 of the protective portion 142 thereof are lower than the top edges 311 of the side wall sections 31 of the surrounding wall 3, and the heel top edge 144 of the protective portion 142 is lower than the top edge 331 of the rear wall section 33 of the surrounding wall 3.

When the shoe 1 is worn by the user and the user's foot is inserted into the wearing space 13, since the foot arch correction device 14 is completely received in and does not protrude out of the receiving space 4 of the outsole 10 which has a good hardness and strength, the foot arch correction device 14 cannot be easily moved and displaced. As such, not only the stability of the foot arch correction device 14 after assembly can be increased, the foot arch correction device 14 can also accurately correspond to the user's foot to correct the foot arch of the user's foot, so that the bones and meridians of the body of the user wearing the shoe 1 can be maintained in healthy positions.

Therefore, the shoe 1 of this disclosure has a novel structure, and can achieve the effect of correcting the foot arch of the user.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A shoe comprising: an outsole having a base wall, and a surrounding wall extending upwardly and integrally from a periphery of said base wall and cooperating with said base wall to define a receiving space, said surrounding wall having a guide groove surrounding said receiving space; an upper fixedly connected to said outsole by a seam that is received in and that extends around said guide groove; and a foot arch correction device disposed in said receiving space in a non-protruding manner and having a stepping portion located on top of said base wall, and a protective portion extending upwardly and outwardly from a periphery of said stepping portion and surrounded by said surrounding wall.
 2. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said protective portion of said foot arch correction device has two lateral top edges spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction, said surrounding wall including two side wall sections respectively corresponding to said lateral top edges of said protective portion, each of said side wall sections having a top edge higher than a respective one of said lateral top edges of said protective portion.
 3. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein said protective portion of said foot arch correction device further has a heel top edge connected between said lateral top edges thereof, said surrounding wall further including a rear wall section connected to rear ends of said side wall sections and having a top edge connected between said top edges of said side wall sections, said top edge of said rear wall section being higher than said heel top edge of said protective portion.
 4. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said base wall has two inwardly curved lateral sides spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction, and a foot arch region located between said inwardly curved lateral sides, said receiving space including a first area corresponding to said foot arch region and having an average depth larger than an average thickness of said foot arch region.
 5. The shoe as claimed in claim 4, wherein the average depth of said first area is two to three times the average thickness of said foot arch region.
 6. The shoe as claimed in claim 4, wherein said base wall further has a heel region located on a rear side of said foot arch region, said receiving space further including a second area corresponding to said heel region and having an average depth that is one to two times an average thickness of said heel region.
 6. The shoe as claimed in claim 6, further comprising an insole disposed in said receiving space and located below said foot arch correction device.
 8. An outsole of a shoe configured to receive a foot arch correction device, comprising: a base wall configured to support the foot arch correction device; and a surrounding wall extending upwardly and integrally from a periphery of said base wall and cooperating with said base wall to define a receiving space for receiving the foot arch correction device in a non-protruding manner, said surrounding wall being configured to surround the foot arch correction device and having a guide groove surrounding said receiving space.
 9. The outsole as claimed in claim 8, wherein said base wall has two inwardly curved lateral sides spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction, and a foot arch region located between said inwardly curved lateral sides, said receiving space including a first area corresponding to said foot arch region and having an average depth two to three times larger than an average thickness of said foot arch region.
 10. The outsole as claimed in claim 9, wherein said base wall further has a heel region located on a rear side of said foot arch region, said receiving space further including a second area corresponding to said heel region and having an average depth that is one to two times an average thickness of said heel region. 